With the first round of Employment Rights Act (ERA) 2025 changes now in place, employment lawyer Rachel Ford-Evans rounds up the changes and potential pitfalls for the voluntary sector.
THE CURRENT POSITION AND LOOKING AHEAD
A number of the Employment Rights Act (ERA) changes have already been implemented as of April 2026, whilst others aren’t due to come into force until later this year and into 2027. From a governance and compliance standpoint, it’s important to be mindful of these upcoming changes and act now to protect both your workforce and organisation.
Speaking on the changes so far and around the corner, Carys Hedd Paschalis, Assistant Director of People & Culture at WCVA said:
‘These changes matter to every voluntary organisation, whatever its size. With resources already stretched, taking time now to understand the reforms, review policies and support managers will help organisations protect their people, meet their responsibilities and avoid greater pressure later’.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ERA FOR THE VOLUNTARY SECTOR
While many of the ERA changes apply to all employers, their significance to the voluntary sector, which is already heavily strained by rising operating costs and squeezed margins, shouldn’t be underestimated. Some of the changes will require voluntary organisations to act quickly to amend their policies and train up their managers or risk non-compliance.
At WCVA’s gofod3 2026, Darwin Gray’s Managing Partner, Fflur Jones, delivered a session on ‘what every charity needs to know’ about the Employment Rights Act 2025 (see pictured). This was a great opportunity for those in the voluntary sector to hear exclusively about the changes most pertinent to charities and equip them with the necessary tools to futureproof their workforce.
EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS CHANGES IN 2026
The employment rights changes introduced so far:
Family rights / leave
- Paternity Leave – now a day 1 right.
- Parental Leave – now a day 1 right.
- Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave (BPPL) – introduced alongside ERA via the Paternity Leave (Bereavement) Act 2024.
Collective redundancy consultations
- Increase in the maximum penalty (the ‘protective award’) for breaching the collective redundancy consultation requirements from 90 days’ pay to 180 days’ pay per employee.
Sexual harassment
- Complaints of sexual harassment now treated as a type of ‘protected disclosure’ and subject to whistleblowing protection.
Statutory sick pay (SSP)
- SSP now payable on the first day of sickness.
- Lower earnings limit removed (rate of SSP is 80% of an employee’s earnings or the statutory flat rate, whichever is lower).
Equality action plans
Introduced on a voluntary basis for now (will become mandatory in 2027):
- Equality Action Plans for Gender Pay Gap and Menopause.
- Large employers (250+ employees) will be required to detail the evidence-based actions they are taking to improve gender equality.
- Employers will need to publish an ‘Equality Action Plan’, in addition to naming the providers they contract with for outsourced services.
UPCOMING CHANGES – OCTOBER 2026 AND BEYOND
The employment rights changes coming in October 2026:
Sexual harassment and harassment
- Duty to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment will shift to a duty to take all reasonable steps.
- Employers will be directly liable for third party harassment of any kind (not just sexual harassment under the Equality Act 2010) toward staff by third parties (e.g. service users, clients, contractors, suppliers, or agency workers) unless an employer takes reasonable steps to prevent it.
Trade Unions
- Requirement to inform workers of their right to join a trade union from day 1 of employment.
- Increased rights of access of trade unions to workplaces.
- Employees will gain extra protection against detriment for taking industrial action.
Employment tribunal time limits
- Deadline on employees to start an Employment Tribunal process if they have a complaint against their employer will double from three to six months.
The biggest changes expected in 2027 are:
Unfair dismissal
- All employees who have worked for their employer continuously for six months (down from the current two years) will have full unfair dismissal rights.
- Cap on compensation for unfair dismissal claims (currently one year’s salary) will be removed.
- Making dismissal and re-engagement (‘fire and re-hire’) unlawful except in very limited circumstances.
Casual workers/zero-hour contracts
- Workers will have the right to be offered guaranteed hours of work after 12 weeks of work for an employer, and every 12 weeks thereafter.
- New right to compensation for cancelled or curtailed shifts on short notice.
Family rights
- Increasing protection against dismissal for employees on or recently returned from maternity and other types of family leave.
- Introducing a new right to bereavement leave following the death of a close family member.
WHAT SHOULD ORGANISATIONS DO NOW?
Many voluntary organisations are already very good at upholding their employees’ rights and showing best practice in the areas covered by the ERA. However, the specific nature of some of the changes will require policies to be updated, training to be given, and trustees to understand their obligations in these areas. Training for staff and managers will be especially important when it comes to the unfair dismissal reforms and the duty to prevent sexual harassment.
SUPPORT AVAILABLE FROM DARWIN GRAY
Darwin Gray’s employment law team are supporting lots of organisations with reviewing and updating contracts and policies, including offering an ‘ERA compliant’ fixed price package for employers.
The team also regularly deliver training to employers, HR teams, and boards of trustees, to help comply with the changes and getting HR practices right.
If you need assistance with the ERA and upcoming employment law changes, get in touch with Rachel at rford-evans@darwingray.com or on 02920 829 100.